Draco Malfoy

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Well I began to wrap myself around your fingertips

I ran myself in circles around you

Everytime I'm by your side

I swear that I would never tell a lie

But I always do

Oh, swallow all my words and choke on the truth

And sit around and stare at your mouth

And wait for you to

Say what I won't

Say what I don't say cuz i'm afraid that you won't

Say what you won't

Say what you don't say

'Say What I Won't' Jason Mraz

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Draco continued to stare at his plate at dinner, avoiding the constant stares coming from the Gryffindor table. Draco found himself staring up at the strange blonde haired Australian who Draco had seen with Hermione on the train. Draco at first did not know what to think about the kid. When he first laid eyes on Hermione in that train car, he was speechless. He did not even know what to think, how to act or what to say. Then when he saw her sitting next to Sam Austin, he was frozen.

"She's over you Draco." A nasty voice called from deep inside of his soul. Draco contemplated for a split second to keep on walking, but when he rotated his head and laid eyes on Potter, his blood began to boil. Draco felt the anger and contempt he held for him ever since the beginning of first year, but more from the previous term. Their last confrontation, three months prior left Draco more fuming then ever. Draco hated everything Potter stood for, and for what Potter did. The end of Fifth year was so difficult for Draco he often tried not to think about it. Just merely the thought of it was enough to send him into a panic attack. His father, a well-known Death-Eater, broke into the Ministry of Magic with his fellow Death Eaters and their leader, Voldemort. A confrontation, the details Draco was not exactly sure of, but he did know that Hermione was involved, in sued there in the Department of Mysteries.  Dumbledore, who was in hiding at the time, showed up and a battle between him and Voldemort occurred. Sirius Black, Harry's godfather, was killed in the bout. When Voldemort disappeared, Draco's father was sent to Azkaban. However, Lucius used his still strong connections to get himself and his fellow Death Eaters out of the wizarding prison.

However, the Wizengamot had scheduled a trial date for Lucius Malfoy and his fellow Death Eaters. Draco had been pushing back the concept of his father ever going to prison for years now. Draco knew of his father's wrong doings, and of his meddling in the Dark Arts, but he had grown used to it, he became desensitized to the awful things that happened in the Manor on a daily basis.  Therefore, all summer Draco sat around and moped for Hermione, trying to drown out the reality that his father would be going to prison for good in the near future. All summer, Draco let the trial date grow closer. His mother, sensing that she would no long be spending anymore time with her husband in the near future, kept herself busy with scheduling as much charity events as possible. She was trying to keep the name of a Malfoy good in the eyes of the Ministry, who were at the time gathering a very strong case against Lucius Malfoy.

The trial is tomorrow. Draco's inner voices screamed. He had been trying to ignore them all summer, but they were now were screaming more loudly than ever. Draco could feel his head start to pound, his eyes still on his thick piece of turkey. He looked to his right and saw Pansy talking rather shrilly, food pouring out of her mouth. Draco could feel his insides lurching, suddenly feeling sick to his stomach. Draco stumbled to his feet, everyone sitting at the Slytherin table looked up at him.

'Hey Draco! Where are you going mate?" Crabbe asked loudly. Draco could feel everything start to spin around him as the voices became louder and louder. He could no longer hear the real world, just the voices in his head.

"Stop!" Draco screamed. Everyone in the Great Hall suddenly fell silent, and their eyes rested on them. Draco could hear a few hushed murmurs as he stumbled out of the great hall.  Draco did not see however, Dumbledore whispering to Professor McGonagall before standing up abruptly and following Draco out of the great hall.

Draco stumbled, heavy footed down several corridors. He had to get away.   His stomach was violently churning what little he had to eat that day. His head was pounding, and his vision was blurred.

"You're never going to amount to anything Draco Malfoy!" one voice shrieked. Draco let out a scream clutching his temples as he fell onto the cold stone floor.

"You are becoming him! You are turning into him Draco." Another voice screeched.  Draco could feel a prickly stabbing pain in his head. He could feel his breathing become more labored as he rolled up into a small ball on the floor.  Draco's world was shattering. All the bottled up emotions begin hitting him all at once. His obsession and heartache from his brief relationship with Hermione, his absolute rage against Harry Potter, his immense fear of his father. The pure self-contempt he had for himself, even his confusion about Eva. His desire to be loved had driven him into a heartless machine. Draco Malfoy was an empty shell. He walked, talked, and behaved like a normal person. His mental disorder had gone so far untreated; it ate away at his brain until there almost was not anything left. Draco felt everything around begin to rotate so fast, until it all just went blank.

Draco faded in and out of consciousness for what seemed like days, but was only several hours. Draco woke up in stiff pajamas that did not belong to him, in a random bed in the Infirmary. Draco slowly sat up, and looked around. He rubbed his eyes and looked around. He looked around before he realized he was not alone.

"Hello Draco." The voice bellowed. Draco quickly recognized the person as Album Dumbledore. He was seated comfortable in an armchair besides Draco's bed, a small grin on his face.

"What am I doing in here?" Draco asked confused, he could only remember himself venturing into another anxiety attack.

"You just had a little fainting spell Draco." Dumbledore replied, an odd look in his eyes. He leaned forward, his wise eyes boring in Draco's weak ones. 

"Do you have anything to ask me Mr. Malfoy?" Dumbledore asked. Draco could feel a lump rising in his throat, his eyes shifted to the window, where the bright morning sun was shining. Draco shook his head. Dumbledore stood up slowly and patted the bed.

"Draco, I know you may not like me exactly." Dumbledore paused. Draco looked down at the sheets of his bed. "Whatever the outcome of your father's trial today, I'm still on your side." Dumbledore smiled while Draco remained expressionless. While deep in his heart he believed Dumbledore, years of growing up under his father's brutal ways, prevented him from showing any of his genuine emotions. Dumbledore quickly walked out of the room, his bright blue robes fluttering up behind him.

Madam Pomfrey came teetering into the room, a small piece of paper in her hand, and a plate from the Great Hall. She smiled at him before she spoke.

"Hello Draco!" she said through her large grin.  He had never experienced Madam Pomfrey being so kind to him.  She glided over to him and set down the plate and the piece of paper on the table beside his bed. Draco sighed to himself when he realized it was his timetable.

"Am I going to be out of here before classes start today?" Draco asked inquisitively. Madam Pomfrey nodded before laying a tray in front of him and setting the plate on it.

"You're going to have to eat first Draco!" Madam Pomfrey said quickly. Draco stared at the plain meal of porridge, bacon, and eggs.  Draco stared at  the food before slowly finishing off his small meal; he had not eaten since the previous day. After Draco finished off his meal, Madam Pomfrey allowed him to dress and leave for his first class. Madam Pomfrey had begun digging into her medicine cabinet and withdrew a large flask. She walked over and placed it in Draco's hand. Draco looked down at it and read the label: Draught of Peace.

"Professor Snape brewed it himself, I advise you take this twice a day." Madam Pomfrey directed. Draco opened the flask and took a small sip, wincing as the bitter liquid went down his throat. Draco suddenly felt calmer than he had two seconds prior. Draco could feel a smile come unto his face. Madam Pomfrey, seeing to it that he had eaten his meal and taking the Draught of Peace, finally dismissed Draco to attend his classes.

"Take it easy Mr. Malfoy!" Madam Pomfrey called after him as Draco stepped out of the infirmary. Draco felt unusually light, free of his own mind nagging at him and bring him down, his mind not even crossing his father's trial. Even the voices were gone. Draco hurried to his N.E.W.T level History of Magic class with the ethereal Professor Binns.  Draco could see the surprised faces of his fellow Slytherins as he swiftly sat down beside Blaise a split second before the bell ring.

"What happened to you yesterday Draco?" Blaise asked.

"I just got a little dizzy. That's all." Draco said lightly. Professor Binns began talking about the difficulty of his N.E.W.T level History of Magic class.  On a normal day, Draco would be lulled into a drowsy stupor, but he was wide-awake, his quill moving rapidly across his piece of parchment as he took notes. After his History of Magic Class, Draco stood up and made his way with Blaise to the dungeons, where they would have Double Potions.

"Hey Draco." Blaise said, putting his hand in front of Draco's chest causing him to stop in his tracks.

"What?" Draco asked curiously, removing Blaise's hand and continuing to walk to the Dungeons, his pace quite brisk.

"Are you going to act like its not even happening?" Blaise called from behind Draco as he struggled to keep up. Draco suddenly felt the urge to become agitated, but the Draught of Peace potion still was circulating in his system, as he magically calmed down before he even felt a hint of irritation.

"Blaise." Draco paused. "Maybe we shouldn't fret about it.  Let's just let it sink in for a while, and we'll find out what happened tonight. My mum promised to owl me at 6 P.M. on the dot." Draco said softly. "Now relax." Draco's voice suddenly lowered, into a much colder tone that frightened Blaise. Blaise opted not to say anything until they reached Snape's classroom.

Draco had almost forgotten the fact that Potter, Hermione, Eva, and Sam were all in his double potions class until he stepped inside the doorway and say them seated in there. Snape was nowhere to seen. Draco avoided Hermione's constant glare. She was seated next to Sam. Draco feeling a twinge of envy scowled at him, and sat down beside Eva. Eva scooted closer to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"You okay?" she asked, her voice tiny. Draco was not sure what she meant by this, since everything had been going wrong for him that day. Could it be his father's trial? Or was it his outburst at Dinner?  Or was it the fact that she had been sorted into Gryffindor? Draco avoided her softy gaze, before nodding. Eva sighed loudly.

"Draco… you know that we have a lot to talk about don't you?" Eva whispered. Draco could still feel Hermione's staring at him and Eva. Draco looked at Eva; they still had not discussed what had happened the Saturday night before.

"I wasn't thinking. It didn't mean anything…really." Draco said, his voice trailing off. He looked back quickly to stare at Hermione. Eva noticed this and did not say anything else.  Draco, noticed the hurt in her eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but closed it when he saw Snape entering the room. The tall black haired teacher glared at the class, his face contorted in its normal scowl.

"Welcome to my N.E.W.T level Potions course. This class is very difficult, and I expect nothing less than outstanding from you as students." Snape said coldly, Draco noticed Snape flash Harry a look of contempt before returning to his short speech. He continued talking about the importance of N.E.W.T's to a witch or wizard's future. After his fifteen-minute speech, he placed quite difficult instructions for a complex potion called the Cowerdius Cantiem Potion.

"This potion, gives the drinker short term courage. It is very likely to come up on a N.E.W.T exam. Before we begin, I would like to organize you into permanent partners." Snape snapped, Draco felt a lump rise in his throat; this was his only class with Eva, and Eva was one person that helped him manage keeping his sanity.  Draco could feel Hermione's eyes returning to him. Draco sat frozen, afraid to turn around again and look at her. Eva was staring off into the distance, a peculiar look on her face.  Snape turned around to grab a long piece of parchment off his desk. He walked over to the first table and announced the first pair.

"Blaise Zabini and Hermione Granger. Please grab your books and cauldrons and sit here." Snape instructed. Blaise and Hermione both stood up hesitantly before following Snape's instructions. Draco looked back at Harry, and was surprised to find himself smirking. Harry glared at Draco, his eyes snapping down quickly to the plain wooden countertop of the potions table.  Snape strolled over to the table behind Hermione and Blaise, a sullen gloomy look etched across both of their faces.

"Seamus Finnigan and Pansy Parkinson." Snape announced, placing his hand on the table where they would be sitting, before continuing. He began to work his way around the room, he made his way to the back, switching to the next row, and then working his way to the front again. Draco felt a small glimmer of hope, but then a sharp flash of doom when he realized who had not been placed in a pair yet. Four of them stood in the corner of the room holding their cauldrons and books. Draco, Eva, Potter, and the new Slytherin, Sam Austin. Snape stepped forward and placed his hand on the table beside Hermione and Blaise, Hermione's normally kind face was pink from complete agony.  Draco locked eyes with her, but Hermione suddenly looked away as if she was refusing to look at him any longer. Draco felt himself step away from Eva.

For some odd reason he felt Snape would place him with Potter just for kicks. Draco also had noticed that all the pairs were not in the same house. And the only person left not in his house besides Eva was Potter. Snape looked at his parchment and finally spoke. "Eva Harrison. Quickly. Quickly." Snape commanded. Eva skittered off to her seat and sat down.  Snape looked at his parchment and scowled. "Harry Potter."

Draco's head shot up in surprise, and mild disgust. That scumbag with Eva. Draco thought quickly to himself. "Hurry up Potter, we don't have all day." Snape snapped; for Harry Potter was still glued to his spot. "Potter." Snape snapped again, waking Harry from his short-term daze. He sat next to Eva and mumbled a small greeting.  Finally, it dawned on Draco who he was placed with, Sam Austin.  Draco looked up to find Snape staring at him, pointing to the table besides Eva and Harry. Draco shot Harry a condescending look before sitting down. Sam followed and sat down next to Sam.

"Now that that's done." Snape said harshly, his face contorted into a smirk of satisfaction as he looked upon his now miserable N.E.W.T level Potions students. "Be careful with this potion for if it's done incorrectly, it can emit a poisonous gas that can severally harm you and others in your immediate vicinity. You may begin." Snape instructed, turning around dramatically. He sat down at his desk and watched his class.

Draco stared at Sam Austin for a split second. Much to his surprise, Sam smiled and stuck out a hand.

"'Ello. I'm Sam." He smiled. Draco stared at him quizzically before hesitantly taking his hand. Had he forgotten what happened on the train? Draco thought to himself.

"Draco." Draco replied, his voice abnormally bland. Draco did not know how to respond to anyone being kind to him. Especially after shooting them dirty looks every twenty seconds.

"Well! We ought to get started eh?" Sam asked. He took out his cauldron and begins to follow instructions. The instructions first instructed for the pair to use large cauldron for the final mixture while each partner worked separately on the smaller, yet still complex components of the potion. Draco was surprised to find himself enjoying the double period with Sam as a partner. Sam would occasionally crack jokes, and the soon began an interesting conversation about Quidditch. Draco advised him to try out for the open position of Keeper on the Slytherin Quidditch team. For a moment, Draco had temporarily forgotten about his woes. When the bell rang they quickly cleaned up and turned in their finish project, which turned out perfect. Draco happily made his way to lunch in an unusually good mood. His jovial mood lasted all the way through N.E.W.T level Transfigurations with McGonagall, the only N.E.W.T level course Crabbe and Goyle and gotten into. He did not dare to insult Potter and Weasley, who were in his Transfigurations class, and he finally spared Hermione the agony of his intense stares. Draco's good mood finally faded at dinner. He looked at his small watch; it was 6' o clock.  The trial must have ended. Blaise looked at his own watch and gave Draco a weary look. Draco felt his heart skip a beat when a lone owl flew into the Great Hall and landed gracefully on the Slytherin table.

Draco took the note and thanked his mother's owl, before it turned around and flew out an open window, off to possibly the Hogwarts owlery.  Draco rolled open the small scrap of parchment with numb fingers.

"I can't do it." Draco muttered.  He handed the piece of parchment to Blaise. Blaise looked at it, shook his head, and handed it across the table to Pansy.

"Read it Pansy." Draco commanded her softly. Pansy read the letter quickly and looked up at Draco sorrowfully. She shook her head and handed Draco the letter. Draco felt his heart jump in horror. His hands were now sweating; he opened the piece of parchment.

Draco,

Albus Dumbledore and the rest of the Wizengamot have found your father and the others guilty of all crimes charged. He was convicted to life in     Azkaban.  Do not worry son, your father and the others have spoken of this happening. Don't fret, and please behave as normally as possible.

We may send for you soon.

Love

Mum

Draco looked up from the letter, tears in his eyes. He shook his head and ripped the piece of parchment in half. His thoughts returned to when Dumbledore stated he was on his side. Draco's bottom lip quivered in fury, "He's not on my fucking side." Draco muttered aloud. Blaise and Pansy exchanged weary looks before dejectedly returning to their dinners. Draco looked at them sorrowfully before doing the same.

Hermione Granger

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You know you're stunning

Well you're absolutely stunning

And i'm running always running

And now I'm crying

You know only cause i'm caring

And if you were more daring maybe you'd stop staring

And come over and talk to me

And tell me bout how you've been waiting so patiently

And now you try but I  just turned away

And I'll say, "Yeah well you know, I'm shy that way"

'Shy That Way' Tristan Prettyman & Jason Mraz

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hermione forcefully stabbed her piece of roast beef violently before taking a large swig of her pumpkin juice. She had been having a very bad day. Not only did Harry and Draco ignore or avoided her all day, Sam kept babbling on during Arithmeticy about how much he enjoyed being in Slytherin, and how Hogwarts is better than all his previous schools combined.  Then to top it off, Hermione only had one class with Ron; this was a first for both of them. Harry was in all of Hermione's classes save for one.

"Well… everyone has their bad days." Ron said woefully. He had done awful on his O.W.Ls; Ron had barely managed enough to scrape by.  Neville Longbottom and Dean Thomas were his companions in most of his classes.  Hermione stabbed her roast beef again. She remained silent throughout dinner. She looked down the Gryffindor table to find Harry sitting with the Beauxbatons girl, Eva Harrison.

"What is that?" Hermione snapped sourly. Ron looked around in mildly confusion.

"Wha?"  Ron asked in utter confusion. His mouth full to the brim with mashed potatoes.  Hermione flashed a searing hot look of hate at Eva and Harry. They were laughing, and Draco had a wide grin on his face. Hermione felt her blood boil as she watched Harry pat her back, and Eva batting her eyes at him.

"He's talking to her, but he's been giving me shit ever since he stepped onto the bloody train Sunday!" Hermione spat irately. Ron stared at her fascination.

"What's gotten into you Hermione?" Ron said in awe. Hermione rolled her eyes; she was not even sure what exactly had put her on edge.  Seeing Draco again, with another girl, then seeing this girl hitting on her best friend made for a lethal mixture on Hermione's nerves.  Hermione groaned, she suddenly felt alone, like everyone was against. The glanced at Ron, then at Harry and Eva one final time before she took a large bite of her mangled piece of roast beef. Hermione managed to make it through dinner without exploding into a fit of curses and swears, much to her own surprise. She even managed to ignore Ron when he whispered to Dean, "Must be her time of the month." 

When dinner was over, Harry still managed to ignore Hermione. She walked behind Harry and Eva as they talked excitedly about Eva's many adventures traveling. Hermione scowled the whole way sauntering behind the pair. Hermione was so angry; she failed to notice a rather somber group of Slytherins standing beside the main staircase; Draco Malfoy standing forlornly in the middle as they all patted his back reassuringly. Sam, spotting Hermione, quickly left the group and ran after Hermione, touching her lightly on the shoulder. Hermione spun around, a look of pure rage on her normally kind face.

"WHAT!" Hermione shouted. The corridor suddenly fell silent as everyone's eyes drifted to a pink-faced Hermione. Sam started at her confused before he spoke.

"What's wrong with you tonight Hermione?" Sam asked. Hermione glared at him, she still felt her fists tightened. Why am I so angry? She thought quickly to herself. Sam continued to stare at her when Hermione failed to respond.

"Um… well, I'll see you tomorrow I guess." Sam's voice trailed off. He wrapped his arms around Hermione's tense body. Normally his touch would have calmed her down, but it only set her off more. She was more then irked, she was irate, she was belligerent, Hermione Granger was furious. Sam sensing Hermione was on edge, decided not to kiss Hermione goodnight. Hermione stared at him as he made off with a pack of fourth year Slytherin girls. One of them shot Hermione a nasty look before turning around and following him off to the dungeons. The group of somber Slytherins had already disappeared off into the Dungeons.

The snot nose Slytherin fueled Hermione's inferno even more as she stomped up several flights of stairs until she reached the Fat Lady. 

"Fiddlesticks!" Hermione snapped. Hermione's fury, fueled mostly by stress, disappointment and plain old jealously, almost made her stumble into the portrait hole. She saved herself from falling on her face as she entered the Gryffindor common room. Hermione's eyes rested on Harry, who was sitting by Eva on the couch in front of the fire.

"Harry Potter!" Hermione yelled. The environment in the common room abruptly changed.  Everyone fell silent as all eyes fell on Hermione, for the second time that night. Harry switched positions on the couch to turn and look at her. When he realized it was Hermione who had said his name so roughly, he turned back around, acting like he had not heard her. Hermione felt her upper lip quiver in sheer rage. She plodded over to the couch and grabbed Harry forcefully by the arm of his long black robe. Harry's face flushed in embarrassment, but he remained silent until they reached the boy's dormitory. Hermione muttered a spell to lock the door behind them.

"Harry!" Hermione spat loudly. Harry looked at her, and shook his head in shame.

"Hermione, you're only making a fool of yourself." Harry said; his voice was strained. Harry walked to the door and tried to open it, but Hermione had sealed it shut with her spell.

"Hermione, come on. Let me out." Harry said jerking the doorknob violently.

"No." Hermione snapped.

"Hermione! Come on! This is fucking childish. Stop it." Harry said, his tone becoming harsher. Hermione stormed over to Harry. Harry towered over in her height wise, but Hermione stood strong.

"Your not leaving this room until you tell me what has gotten into you." Hermione replied, her brown eyes glaring stonily into his emerald ones.  Much to her surprise, Harry laughed at her. Hermione suddenly felt a small pang of hurt. What happened to the boy I have befriended five years go? Hermione thought to herself.

"What's gotten into me?" Harry scoffed. "What's gotten into ME?" he repeated. His voice cracking, tears forming in his eyes.

"Hermione. How stupid do you think I am?"  Harry asked her. Hermione suddenly felt small. What was he talking about? Harry continued to laugh in skepticism.

"Hermione I witnessed the only person who I could see helping me in the near future die." Harry said dejectedly, he began to pace the room, avoiding Hermione's confused gaze.

"How stupid do you think I am Hermione?"  Harry asked again. Hermione felt her fury fade, as sadness grabbed a hold of her. She finally realized the selfishness of all her actions. She had not asked once all summer in any of her letters or conversations with Harry, how he was doing. How he was holding up, how he felt. She had been wallowing in her own confusion and self pity about her relationship with Draco, she forgot the person she was closet too was hurting too.

"I.." Hermione's voice trailed off. Harry stepped closer to her, pointing an accusatory finger in her chest.

"How stupid do you think I am?" he asked yet again.  Hermione could see tears streaming down his rosy cheeks.

"I'm sorry." Hermione said finally. This was the most sincere apology she had made in months.

"Sorry isn't good enough Hermione. I thought we could trust each other. I trusted you Hermione." Harry replied quickly. He sat down on his bed quietly, his head low.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked, suddenly confused.  She sat beside him. Harry scooted away from her, his head still held low. Hermione sniffled.

"You know what I'm talking about Hermione." Harry paused to get up. He walked slowly to the window. "Draco Malfoy." Harry said, the tone of his voice was terrifying Hermione. Hermione inhaled sharply, her hands clenched a fistful of her robes. Hermione tried to think of something to say, but Harry beat her to the punch.

"How do I know? Is that what you were going to ask me Hermione?" Harry asked, the strange color of the ghastly gray moon was reflected unto Harry's face. Harry remained frozen to his spot, his hands shoved in his pockets, his eyes not even daring to look at Hermione. Hermione attempted to open her mouth again, but nothing came out.

"I noticed how often you were leaving your dorms in the middle of the night. I followed you." Harry said slowly. Hermione remained speechless. "Almost every night, eh Hermione?" Harry said cruelly. He turned to glare at her.  Hermione could feel her entire body tremble, this was not the same Harry she thought she knew.

"Harry… You know that has nothing to do with you." Hermione finally managed to say. 

"Hermione, I've known for months now. At first I decided to give you the benefit of the doubt, maybe you really did like him. But he treated you like shit Hermione. Yet you still left the dormitories…" Harry paused. "You left every fucking night." Harry said frigidly.  Hermione, finally driven over the edge spoke.

"Harry, I understand why you might be upset with me. But you have no right to talk to me like that." Hermione stood up to leave, but felt compelled to say one last thing to Harry.

"You don't know him like I know him Harry. He's a good person, you're just not giving him a chance." Hermione said softly. Harry turned around and stormed towards her, he stopped and jabbed his index finger forcefully into her chest.

"Know him?   He's a bloody slimy little git!  At night, in the darkness, in dark classrooms and empty bathrooms, you let him shag you, but in the daytime, you let him belittle you and insult you? How the fuck does that make him a good person?" Harry spat, his face barely inches from her face. Hermione felt like Harry had just slapped her across the face. She turned to leave when Harry grabbed her arm.

"Get off me!" she screamed, breaking into sobs. She attempted to push Harry off her, but he overpowered her. Hermione tried to fall to the floor but Harry grabbed her forcefully preventing her from falling to the ground. 

"I know you Hermione." Harry's voice cracked. "And this shit is NOT you!" He released Hermione and walked away. Hermione fell to the floor, still sobbing hysterically. He walked over to the fireplace, where a fire was burning ablaze. Harry's back shaking as if he was crying. Hermione put her face in her hands trying to regain her composure.  She stood up slowly, rubbing her pink face into her robes. Harry was still standing hunched over eerily over the fireplace.

"Well Harry, I dumped Draco before the end of the last term. Does that make you happy? Are you satisfied now?" Hermione cried. Harry did not move. Hermione fumbled clumsily through her robes, searching for her wand. She found it and whispered the reversing spell to unseal the door. She stepped out of the Boy's dormitory, slamming the door behind her.

She noticed Lavender and Parvati sitting on the fifth step of the staircase leading up to the boy's dormitories. They both flashed Hermione a sympathetic look as she walked down the steps. Hermione was too stunned to get angry about Lavender and Parvati's eavesdropping. She had never been in such an intense fight with anyone before, yet alone her best friend, Harry Potter.  "What's wrong Hermione?" Ron asked sensitively placing a hand on Hermione's shoulder lovingly. Hermione shook her head, fighting the tears and continued to walk through the Common Room and up the stairs to the girl's dormitories, everyone staring at her only made the walk more terrorizing. She finally reached her bed. She fell into the warm sheets and wept.

Hermione awoke to a sluggish start the next morning. Lavender and Parvati were already awake, and fighting over the mirror. Eva was still rousing herself from bed. Hermione stared at her a split second before looking away. Hermione moaned sorrowfully when she remembered the events of the night before. Crookshanks, sensing her melancholy , curled up into her lap lovingly. Hermione rubbed the fluffy ginger cat before hesitantly climbing out of bed. 

"Morning Hermione." Lavender smiled sensitively. Hermione started blankly at her, continuing her way to the lavatories. Hermione numbly went through her morning routine. Midway through each of her daily activities she could feel the dark-haired Eva staring at her intently. Great. Did she eavesdrop too? Hermione thought to herself.

When dressed in her school robes, Hermione grabbed her books for the day. She groaned when she realized, that she had Double Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Lupin, Double Charms with Professor Flitwick, and History of Magic with Professor Binns; Harry was in all these classes. Hermione slumped depressively to Breakfast in the Great Hall. She sat beside Ginny, who didn't dare ask her about why her and Harry had chosen to sit ten seats apart. Hermione caught Sam's eye for a split second, he waved at her happily before returning into an animated conversation with Crabbe and Goyle. Hermione shook her head in disbelief. "Can my life go anymore wrong?" Hermione whispered to herself. No one appeared to hear her. She stared at all the happy faces in the Great Hall, and never felt more depressed. Hermione could not take it anymore. She stood up and stared at Draco, he was sitting somberly next to Blaise and Pansy, his eyes not leaving his plate. Hermione felt her eyes blur with tears of longing for him again.

She pushed her way out of the Great Hall, so quickly, she did not see Harry get up and leave after her. She slowly made her down a few corridors before she stopped and plopped unto the ground.  She started to cry softly.

"'Mione?" a voice said slowly. Hermione looked up, it was Harry. Hermione sniffed, not bothering to object to his presence. He was carrying her morning Daily Prophet. He handed it to her, Hermione took it hesitantly, not bothering to open it up and read it.

"Look, what I said last night. I'm sorry if it came off as a little cruel." Harry said softly.

" A little?" Hermione scoffed. Harry looked down at the cold stone floor of the castle.

"I guess I deserved that." Harry said quietly. He got up and turned on his heel to leave. Hermione stood up abruptly, her Daily Prophet falling to the ground.

"Wait Harry." She muttered through a wall of tears. She walked over to him and hugged him. Harry wrapped his arms around her and patted her back. Hermione sniffled, and let go of him. Harry hesitantly released her.

"That's one for the record books." Hermione said lightly, her eyes pink from crying. Harry smiled at her.

"Two days eh?" Harry grinned.

"Come on. They bell is going to ring soon. Don't want to be late for Lupin's class do we?"  Hermione asked. It felt good to have Harry on her side again. Harry turned around, picked up Hermione's Daily Prophet, and handed it to her. Hermione, anxious to see what Professor Lupin's Defense Against the Dark Arts class would be like, still did not open the newspaper. Hermione and Harry hurried to the Great Hall to retrieve their books for their N.E.W.T level Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

Hermione's day, compared to the previous one, went much smoother. She had a good laugh with Sam and Harry as Lupin went through a list that Seamus Finnigan had written to a 6th year Hufflepuff comparing Lupin with DADA teacher from last year, Delores Umbridge.  The double period passed quickly as Hermione went to lunch. She ate lunch with Ron, and Harry, making sure to stop and talk to Sam before heading to their Charms class. And Hermione, as usually managed to stay awake during Professor Binns' one and a half hour long lecture about the Golden age of wizards in the 10th century.  Hermione however did notice that Eva showed up significantly late to Charms, a pain expression etched over her face. Harry noticed this also, but when he asked her about her late arrival, she made a particular snippy comment before retreating to the back of the room to sit alone.  However, strange it was, Hermione simply shrugged off the incident.

Hermione was having a jovial time at dinner laughing with Ron when she noticed a small flock of small barn owls flying towards the building.

"That's strange, it looks like the owls delivering the Daily Prophet." Hermione thought aloud. The owls swooped inside of the building dropping off identical rolls of parchment on the tables of all four houses. The barn owl dropped one in front of her plate, that Hermione had conveniently caught before it almost plopped into her chicken soup.

"What?" Ron muttered in confusing, his mouth full of string beans.  Hermione opened the Daily Prophet to a full spread moving picture of a Malfoy family portrait. Lucius Malfoy was scowling, occasionally changing positions time to time. Narcissa Malfoy stood beside Lucius, her hand on a much younger Draco Malfoy. The young Draco in the picture was smiling. Hermione's eyes widened in shock as she read the headline:

BREAKING NEWS-

MALFOYS AND SIX OTHERS FOUND DEAD AFTER MASS SUICIDE

The Ministry of Magic has been in an uproar since the trial of seven alleged Death Eaters, including Lucius Malfoy were tried and convicted for their crimes of serving He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in a private hearing in front of the Wizengamot. The seven Death Eaters were sentenced to life in Azkaban and were generously given a day before they were to report to the Ministry of Magic and to be taken to Azkaban.

             However, instead of a peaceful surrender, the Death Eaters all returned to L. Malfoy's posh Manor in the British country and performed a mass suicide. 

             "It's a sad thing really." Said Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic.  Aside from the convicted Death Eaters, Narcissa Malfoy 34, wife of Lucius Malfoy, the apparent ring leader, was found dead too.

             The Malfoys leave behind a sixteen-year-old son, the other Death Eaters appeared to have no living relatives. Album Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts, the school where the now orphaned Malfoy is now attending, opted not to be quoted about the condition of the boy. . He did say however that the boy was being held safely in the confines of the enchanted castle. However, officials in the Department of Magical Children's welfare said they were unsure of what was to become of the young man's future.

Hermione read, and re-read the small one page pamphlet. Harry had grabbed the paper from Hermione and read it quickly, his jaw dropping in surprise. Simultaneous reactions erupted from the four tables in the Great Hall. Hermione could feel her eyes tear up, she glanced up at the teachers' table to find Dumbledore's seat empty. She stood up and looked over at the Slytherin table, they all sat with sorrowful looks on their faces.  Draco Malfoy nowhere to be seen. Hermione pushed in her seat as she ran for the door of the Great Hall.  Her heart was pounding heavily in her ears, she ignored the calls after her; she had to find Draco.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yes, I just killed off Malfoy's parents. Do not hate me. L.

On the bright side! (If there is a bright side) This is my longest chapter yet. I started writing at around three o clock, and I have not stopped until just now. (It's 10:30!) Sorry if it's has a few errors in it. Thirteen pages of writing is a lot of proofreading.  Thanks for all of my kinds reviews!  You were all a great inspiration to me.

Did any of you guys get the feeling that Harry already knew about Hermione and Draco? If so, I apologize. My plots tend to be predictable.  I try to work against it, but I just get so uncreative at times!

Yeah, I was reading one of the reviews, and I was looking for some of my misspellings, I only found a couple though. And a few left out words. I'm STILL trying to edit this. LOL!